LAKERS NOTEBOOK: 'Death stare' amuses Bryant

EL SEGUNDO - Kobe Bryant was in a jovial mood following Thursday's Lakers practice, a stark contrast from his mood at the end of the Lakers' loss to Utah on Wednesday night.

Bryant was asked about the video gone viral that has him glaring on the bench, a scowl Lakers fans and officials have become accustomed to over the years. The Internet world deemed it the "death stare" and decided it was directed at Lakers coach Mike Brown, whose legs can be seen walking by during the glare.

But Bryant laughed that off.

"I've been his biggest supporter," Bryant said. "I'm too old for this childish behavior."

But this is the microscope under which the Lakers are living, especially since the team is off to one of its worst starts in history at 1-4.

Bryant admits frustration - but not at Brown.

"It has nothing to do with one particular problem," Bryant said.

"God, people are bored."

And upset.

Bryant was smiling often, and he even watched the YouTube video as a reporter showed it to him on a cellphone, and Bryant smiled and shook his head.

Brown trending

Lakers fans had #mikebrownmovies trending on Twitter Thursday afternoon, in which they were taking shots at him via movies gone wrong to mimic what they believe will be Brown's coaching demise.

Brown had on a brave face Thursday. If he's sweating, he's not showing it.

"I'm frustrated, I think we all are, don't get me wrong," Brown said. "We want to win every time we step on the floor. For me, walking out here pissed or mopey is not the right thing to do."

Stats don't lie

The Lakers are 1-4, and no team has ever won the NBA championship after such a poor start.

"There's always data and history that are going to be that way," Pau Gasol said. "No team has ever won a championship being 0-8 in the preseason. I'm sure there's going to be plenty of those things going forward. We can't think about all those little things. We have to make sure we get better every day and improve as a team. Hopefully that will translate with wins, which is what we need right now."

Threat concerns Brown

Mike Brown's son Elijah Brown, who attends Mater Dei High School, received at least one death threat on Twitter following the Lakers' loss to Utah. Mike Brown, who flew back with the team from Utah late Wednesday and was at practice Thursday, was unaware but said that he would alert the proper people.

Mike, who is not on Twitter, said he has someone who watches over his son's Twitter account.

"People change with the wind," Brown said. "When things are going good, everybody loves you. When things are not good, they don't love you. In terms of threats, if there are, that's something I take seriously."

Steve Blake has had to deal with death threats as well, and his wife, Kristen, came to his defense and now Elijah Brown's defense on Twitter with this post: "Leave Mike Brown's son alone. What's wrong with u people?! Stop attacking FAMILIES! How would you feel if YOUR family was treated like that?"

Silver lining

Brown, a self-admitted film junkie, didn't have a film session with the Lakers on Thursday. Instead, they warmed up and got to work in practice.

"As crazy as it sounds, there are a lot of things we did right (Wednesday) night," Brown said.

In particular, he liked a lot of the good looks the Lakers got, but they didn't knock down shots. The Lakers made just 25 of 74 shots for 33.8 percent. They were just 4 for 23 (17.4 percent) from 3-point land.